Simone Biles qualifies for her 3rd Olympics after winning US trials

MINNEAPOLIS — They all had a reason to come back. Every single one of them. Simone Biles to move past those wrenching two weeks in Japan three years ago, when the gymnastics superstar prioritized her mental health and safety over glory, a decision that inspired some and maddened others.

Suni Lee to prove — perhaps to herself most of all — that the all-around gold medal she earned while Biles watched from the stands wasn’t a fluke. Jordan Chiles to turn the team silver she helped secure at the 2020 Games into gold. Jade Carey to be an official member of the five-woman Olympic squad after earning her way to Tokyo as an individual qualifier, a pathway not available to the U.



S. this time around and frankly, one she had no interest in exploring again anyway. They’re all stepping back into the unique spotlight — oh, and 16-year-old newcomer Hezly Rivera, too — only the sport’s biggest stage can provide.

Their reasons are deeply personal. Their motivation, however, is not. “This is definitely our redemption tour,” Biles said after sewing up a third trip to the Olympics by winning the U.

S. trials on Sunday night. “I feel like we all have more to give.

” Perhaps no one more than Biles, who at 27 is the oldest American woman to make an Olympic gymnastics team since the 1950s. She never expected to still be doing this nearly a decade after becoming a crossover sensation at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. And here she is.

Still working. Still pushing. Not to shut.